Title In The Making
by Irishlovergirl
Summary: Short stories (that are sort of a series) of Parker and Eliot's moments together or thoughts on each other. Much better than it sounds, I promise. Please R
1. Prologe

Buckeye-11

Parker had never had anyone care about her before.

Not like her team did.

Not like he did.

She'd been the one to fall into the dynamic they'd created the easiest. This was the first time that she ever felt like she belonged and that she was wanted. Her, as a person, not just because she was a thief.

She knew that she got away with a lot of things that others wouldn't. Like when she takes away Nate's glass and won't let him get another or when she play's games on Hardison's computer. Sophie's really the only one that doesn't mind when Parker goes into her office, but that doesn't stop her from going into the others when they're not around. She doesn't go into Eliot's because she's thinks something might eat her if she does.

With all of this though, her favorite thing to get away with is touching Eliot. She loves this because she knows that anyone else that tried wouldn't walk away with all of their fingers where they should be. She knows what she's doing and that she's getting away with it, but he always just lets it go with a "It's Parker" which answers any questions sent his way. (He knows she gets away with it too and that she knows what she's doing.)

She loves this because it makes her happy. Not like money does, but it makes her feel something. She also knows that she's the only one that _can _get away with this, so she careful not to cross any lines. Dance on them with her tip-toes yes, but never crossed.

He was the first person in a very long time that made her feel safe. That as long as Eliot was around, she would be okay. He would make sure of it.

She didn't want that to go away because she sat too close all the time or poked one too many bruises, so she was always very careful with the things that he let her do.

It was the middle of summer and they had a few weeks off to enjoy the weather while it lasted. Despite that though everyone came by Nate's once a day to at least check in with everyone else.

Some day's Eliot was around to make dinner for everyone that was there, even if it was just him and Nate. He was the only one that stayed around almost every day, mostly for the fact that he didn't really have anywhere else to be. He wasn't a hired gun anymore and he wasn't going to sit by himself at his apartment, so he stayed at Nate's and kept the place in order. Parker was the other one that was around quite a bit. Not every day, but often enough that she joined dinner more than Nate did.

It was the early afternoon, just after lunch, and the windows were open just enough to let in a light breeze every once in a while. Parker was lying out on the couch, a movie playing in front of her, but she wasn't paying attention. In fact at that very moment, Parker was in the middle of an afternoon cat-nap and wouldn't be waking any time soon.

Eliot figured this out in all of ten seconds when he came in from the kitchen with the book he was reading and a tall glass of iced tea. So instead of trying to wake her, he put the glass on the coffee table, the book under his arm, and then sat her up in her sleepy state. He sat where her head had been a moment before and pulled her gently back the way she had been a moment before. Finding his spot in the story, he began to read.

It was some time later that Parker woke with a pillow she didn't remember having before. She opened her eyes to see the always tough Eliot with his head on the back of the couch and she could feel his hand, being oh so gentle, as he played with her hair. She smiled at her dozing hitter and hit replay on the movie she'd been watching.

* * *

**A/N Okay, so I fell in love with this show and watched the entire thing in like two weeks. I also feel head over heels for this paring and I have no idea why. I just think that they go together way better. Anyway, read and enjoy, let me know what you think in a review or if you'd like to read more. I'll see you guys soon and thanks for reading!**


	2. Knife

They'd been working a job and she had gotten in the way. She didn't mean to, and he certainly didn't blame her for being there, but if she had just stayed where he had told her instead of coming out when she heard the fighting then she would have been fine.

It should have been easy. In and out in less than an hour, but nothing seemed to be going their way on this one.

Sophie was doing the best she could to keep the CEO in the dark about what was happening, Nate was trying to find them another way out for them, Hardison was doing the best he could with everything and anything tec in the van with Nate, Parker was also trying to find a way out of the building for them with Eliot hot on her heels because just walking out like they'd planed was no longer an option, and Eliot was just trying to make sure that neither him nor their thief got shot. Less than two minutes and all the guards had been unarmed and had to fight hand to hand…or so he'd thought.

His blood ran cold when he heard her yell out in pain. He turned to see that one of them had had a knife.

Now Eliot Spencer did not get scared. When a gun was held to his head he gave it a cold look then knocked the person behind it out cold. He scoffed at how most fought with a knife, and in a fist fight you knew who would be walking into the winners circle. But when he turned to see Parker holding her stomach with a red hand and a thug holding a knife with her blood dripping off of it, it took all of his self-control to not kill anyone that got in his way as he ran to her.

He reached her just as she started to fall to her knees. "Didn't see the knife." She said to him then smiled apologetically. Her eyes started to flutter and he took her face in his rough hands as gently as he could to catch her attention.

"You can't sleep yet sweetheart. We've gotta patch ya up first. Come on."

He picked her up bridal style before running out of the building, retelling everyone what had happened over the comms.

They got back to HQ as fast as they could while Eliot sat in the back with Parker, making sure that the bleeding stopped. He thanked whatever God there was when it did stop and he saw that it wasn't as deep as he thought it had been. They wouldn't need to go to a hospital, which was the good news.

They went through the back of the bar and up to Nate's place. Eliot was carrying Parker, doing his best to be gentle, talking to her the whole time. He didn't want her passing out before he got a chance to see what damage had been done.

An hour after everything had calmed down; Sophie went up to Nate's room to check on the two that hadn't been seen since they got back. She opened the door quietly so as not to wake Parker if she was sleeping. The sight that welcomed her was not one she thought she would ever see.

Parker was indeed asleep, lying on her back with bandages around her middle. But what made her smile that of a mother's was that Eliot was laid out on the bed as well. His feet hanging over the side and Parker's head on his own stomach, his fingers running softly through her hair. Sophie had never seen the hitter be this gentle with anybody and it warmed her heart that Parker was able to bring out this side of him without even knowing it.

Eliot opened his eyes to see her in the doorway. "She didn't want to be left alone and she kept trying to curl into a ball." He said to her unasked question.

Sophie nodded and walked out of the room. What she didn't see was the smile Eliot gave the small blonde that was on top of him. A smile that could only be described as loving.


	3. Winter FirstDate

Winter sucked out here in Portland. It was always icy and grey. Parker hated it because she was always cold. No matter how many layers she wore, there always seemed to be a chill in the air.

During the day she stayed in and around the kitchen, doing her best to stay out of the way. The stove, oven, and fryers being on all day helped with the cold.

Eliot was the one who saw why Parker was always around. He set her up (next to where he always worked) with chopping vegetables. They talked while they worked, mostly about random things that came to mind.

If Parker ever started shaking from the cold that only she could feel, Eliot sent her out to help with tables for a while so that she didn't cut herself. She would smile at him, thanking him because she knew what he was doing.

Every night they were the ones to close up the brew pub. A lot of the time she asked him to stay and watch a movie with her, but it was rare that he did.

It was a Friday night, same as any other. Parker and Eliot were cleaning tables and stacking chairs when Parker asked if he wanted to watch a movie when they were finished.

"Nah, I got something better than the back room." He told her as he finished with the bar.

He waited for her by the door with a heavy jacket on his shoulders and keys in his hand. He led the way to his truck, opening the door for her so that she didn't have to touch the cold metal.

When he slid into his place behind the wheel he cranked the heat up all the way for the short drive to his apartment.

She followed his up to the fourth floor, keeping an eye on what was outside the building so that she could come back.

They stopped outside the door that was at the end of the hall. (Closest to the window, which she took note of.) When she entered the small apartment she was hit with the smell of beef stew that had been cooking all day.

"Make yourself at home darlin'. Do you want some stew?"

Parker nods as she hangs her jacket on the same chair that he had draped his over. She wandered into the living area where there was a large bookcase that went from the floor to the celing. The whole thing was stuffed with book, some brand new while others were being held together by the books on either side of them. The two shelves at eye level though had DVDs on them, packed just as tightly as the books above and below them.

She picked out a few DVDs then turned to the doorway just as Eliot walked in with two mugs in his hands.

"These." She said, holding them out to him.

He nodded in return and traded her one of the mugs for the movies. He set up the one that was on top then went to sit next to Parker on the couch. Eliot draped a thick blanket around both of them before picking up his own mug.

An hour and a half later would see Parker pressed into Eliot's side and his arm around her shoulders.

When they look back years later they would call this their first date.


	4. Names Safe

Eliot and Parker had been a part of this rag-tag team of thieves-turned-family for almost six years now, but it still threw her off every time he used endearments with her. The off-hand darlin' or the carefully placed sweetheart, she never had gotten used to it. But that didn't mean she didn't like it. It gave her a warm feeling in her chest that made her smile.

She never thought that he would use these special names with anyone on the team (i.e. her and Sophie) and it made her happy that he liked her enough to say these things to her, without putting any thought to it.

While she was thinking, she has wandered into the kitchen where Eliot was fixing dinner for the team after a hard job.

"You might want to move, sweetheart. I don't want to burn you."

"Why do you do that?" Parker asked him as she moved to sit on the island counter.

"Do what darlin'?"

"Call me that?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Like darling and honey and sweetheart. You don't even think about it. Why?"

"I don't know, Parker. I picked it somewhere as a kid and just never stopped."

"But you never did it before. You started when Terra was here, but you never used them with her. Or with Sophie. You've only used them with kids, or women we were helping. So why use them with me?"

"Because I care, Parker. That's just my way of showin' it I guess. Part of my charm." He told her with a wink.

Then he handed her a stack of plates with silverware on the top. "Would you set the table for me?"

Without another word the two of them finished making dinner and setting the table. Before he could call for the others, Parker jumped into Eliot's arms. With her own around his neck and her face in his shoulder she spoke so quietly he almost missed what she said.

"Thank you for caring. I'm not used to people doing that, but I think I like it."

He responded by tightening his arms around her. "Of course, sweetheart. It's hard not to care about you."

"Still, thank you. I like this feeling, being safe."

Eliot didn't say anything, but when he felt her bury her head into his shoulder, he let her because he liked the feeling of her being safe as well.


	5. Feelings

Parker didn't show her feelings. She kept a blank face because she never learned how to do anything else. However, that didn't mean she didn't have them. Not everyone could see them when she didn't want to show them.

Archie was one of the few. Taking her in, training her for all those years. He could read her like a book. Sophie was another, but only for the fact that she was trained to read even the most difficult marks. Given that, even she couldn't always read the closed off blonde.

The last person was Eliot. He had learned how to read her without ever meaning to. He learned from watching, just like he had with the rest of the team. From watching his family so that he could keep them safe.

It was her eyes that always gave it away for him. It didn't matter how good a mask she wore, the eyes were the windows to the soul and hers was almost screaming for help.

So he did what he could. He sat closer to her during briefings, kept as close as he could during jobs, and made sure that she knew he would always be there for her. All without ever saying a word about it.

It was his job to keep the team safe, and that meant from themselves as well.


	6. Hurt

"Eliot's hurt." Parker announced to the room at large, late one spring afternoon.

They had gotten back from a job a while ago because they had finished earlier then they thought they were going to. In that time though, Eliot had taken a pretty good beating. On the list of things that he knew was wrong with him were: bruised ribs, a badly twisted ankle, busted knuckles, and a blow to the head. He did know it wasn't a concussion though (he'd had those before and they were way less fun then what he had now.)

"I'm fine." He growled to her across the room

"No. you're not." She stated back.

She walked over and sat next to him. She poked him in the ribs then gave a pointed look when he flinched away from her hand. "And you were limping when we were walking up here. You have blood in your hair too."

"I don't think that's his, mama" Hardison added helpfully.

"It might be." Eliot replied honestly.

"Okay." Parker said, as if she had been in a different conversation. "I'm taking you home."

"I'm hurt, Parker. I'm not helpless."

"I never said you were, but I'd feel better if I knew that you got home okay."

Eliot stared in stunned amazement at the small blonde sitting before him. After a few beats of silence (and no objection from Eliot) Parker stood and put her hands out to help him off of the couch. He grudgingly took her hands and let her help him down the stairs to his truck.

"You're not driving, darlin'. I've seen you drive and I don't feel like dying today."

"Fine." She huffed. "But you can't take me home first. And just so you know, I can drive like a normal person when I went to."

"I don't feel like testing that today." Eliot said as he got in behind the wheel.

It was a few minutes before Parker spoke again. "You really do have blood in your hair." She said while she reached out to run her hand over the spot where the hair was crusted together.

"It'll wash out." He told her passively.

"I know. I just never really thought about what you go through to keep us safe."

"It's my job, Parker. I signed up for it. I knew what that entailed."

"I know that too, but you do so much that you don't have to. Without even thinking about it, you just do it."

"I don't have to think about it, sweetheart. It's my job; I'd do it even if I wasn't getting paid. You're stuck with me."

They didn't say anything more until Eliot had his key in his apartment door.

"Good." Parker spoke up. "I like being stuck with you."

He nodded at her like he had expected that answer. Parker spoke again once they were inside and the door had been locked once more. She took his rough hand into her smaller one.

"Take me to the kitchen. " She told him. "I'm done looking at your hair like that. When I finish with that I'll wrap up your ribs."

Eliot just sighed and led her to his (five-star) kitchen.


End file.
